by Alice Rush
WHEN I first obtained my passport in 2006, I had no idea what it would expose me to. Having done some traveling outside the US since then, what I mainly see is our similarities as people. We all come from different backgrounds. We learned different customs and ate different foods, but inside we’re all pretty much the same. We want to feel loved. We want to be respected, and we would like to be appreciated for what we do. We want to feel safe. All of those and more from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
So I asked myself this week, why are there so many apparently unhappy people committing crimes? I questioned whether this occurred in the Netherlands as well. My first feelings about Holland were that it is such a lovely little country, and I feel so safe there. It’s still true. Sadly, I have learned that it isn’t really as beatific as that. Thankfully though, I believe that the incidents are way fewer than what occurs in the U.S. and not just because of the difference in the size of the countries. I’m not wild about research, so I’m not doing any checking on this. It’s just what I surmise. I also don’t like to dwell on these negativities or go into too much depth on gloomy subjects. There are people with more fortitude than me who can really get into all the details.
IN THE States, there is often the subject of crimes involving a perpetrator with a serious mental health issue. There is a lot of discussion about what should be done to diagnose and care for a person with an acute psychiatric challenge. I freelance at a psychiatric facility, but only in the business office. However, anyone who works in the hospital must complete an onboarding process that includes scenarios which offer an insight to the challenges faced by those who are seeking treatment at the hospital. Many patients have experienced unspeakable trauma, or have a chemical imbalance that can only be managed in a hospital setting. Some of these people have committed crimes. I am filled with respect for all of the staff that evaluate and serve these patients everyday.
I WISH everyone could see the care that goes into finding the right treatments for so many people with mental difficulties of varying degrees. Some of these folks have done scary things, many times because they were exposed to horrendous circumstances themselves, or worse, they were subjected to horrifying treatment during their lives. Sometimes there can be an otherwise innocuous event that triggers their memory, and they can become violent.
The direct care staff at the hospital is trained on how to work with the patient, if possible, and how to treat an escalating event. I don’t defend criminal acts. Adverse, disastrous and regrettable conditions can distort the psyche. Further, we are all capable of becoming someone unrecognizable if the environment is right. Underneath it all though, we are all still someone’s spouse, son or daughter, brother or sister, mother or father, or simply a person of significance in another’s life. We’re all just people with needs. Try to be kind..
* Alice is a Maine realtor and a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot. She first met her Dutch husband in Maryland in 2005, and married him four years later.
